America's Cup Recon Diary: April 24 - Three breezes in one day

by Richard Gladwell, Sail-World NZ 25 Apr 06:45 PDT 25 April 2026

Emirates Team New Zealand continued their second block of testing on Friday in a variable breeze that kicked up into a solid 18kts during the session.

Today, sailing Day 12 was mostly about sail testing. A "new" rudder (R5-A) was declared.

This is the second rudder the Kiwis have declared for this 2027 campaign. The number of Legacy and New components, and the allowed degree of modification and repair for each, is covered in seven pages of the Technical Regulations. Teams are allowed two "Legacy" rudders and one "New rudder". ETNZ is now at its maximum Legacy rudder quota.

The first rudder they used this cycle, R4, appears in Recon Reports from April 2024 in Barcelona. ETNZ would appear to have modified this rudder twice, as it has been variously known as R4B and R4C. The latest rudder is R5. Four rudders were permitted in the 2024 Cup cycle - two new and two legacy.

It is not known whether R5 is a new or legacy rudder.

The point of all this sleuthing is that it shows the Kiwis have moved beyond shaking down new crew combinations and are now firmly in development mode.

Ominiously, no other AC75s have started sailing yet. The start of the next Cup is about 12 months distant.

There were three different conditions. Good breeze and confused seas - in the middle of the session. Flat water and a building/dying breeze, prevailed for the start and finish of the session.

Friday was a funky day - but probably a good one for getting through sail checklists - using legacy sails from the 2024 America's Cup cycle. Again, the Quota question arises, but the sails could have had a recut.

We did not personally see any sailing, thinking that the inclement weather would have precluded sailing. But Kiwis weren't looking for excuses, and the Recon team reported a good breeze for pre-starts. Most manoeuvres were done with two boards down.

Testing Session Summary

Crew List:

• Port Helm: Chris Draper (GBR)
• Starboard Helm: Nathan Outteridge (AUS/NZL)
• Port Trimmers: Iain Jensen (AUS); Jake Pye (NZL)
• Starboard Trimmer: Andy Maloney (NZL)
• Oversight: Jo Aleh (NZL) - Starboard

Wind & Sea Conditions:

• AM Wind: 180° 6-12kts
• PM Wind: 180° 18-6kts
• AM Sea State: Flat
• PM Sea State: Flat

• Dock Out: 1100hrs
• Dock In: 1630hrs
• Time sailed: 5hrs

Recon Unit Report - ETNZ assigned team - 24 April 2026:

Key Points:

• Stable platform and manoeuvre refinement in moderate southerly
• Upwind mode bands defined (185°–205° range)
• Increased focus on light-air handling and roll techniques
• Sail testing with M2 & J2-3 (more active main leech than normal today)

The team rolled out at 09:17hrs, stepping straight into a structured setup phase with Mast 3 and M2 configurations confirmed through the late morning. Off the dock at 1100hrs - J4-2 was selected as the working headsail.

Initial warm-up (11:50hrs–12:00hrs) focused on gybes and tacks in a 12kt southerly. The platform remained notably flat, with good control through maneuvers. There was a centerline traveller catch.

Transitioning modes upwind (12:19hrs),

185° identified - high mode heading 205° as rebuild 200° as baseline

As the breeze softened to ~10kts (12:30), emphasis shifted toward increasing leeward heel into manoeuvres, improving catch and transition efficiency.

A scheduled stop at 12:40hrs allowed for checks, followed by a battery change at 13:15hrs. Shortly after, the jib was dropped and briefly put in the water, sail adjustments made and rehoisted.

Afternoon session resumed at the bottom end of Waiheke (14:00) in 12–18kts. Pre-start work and boat entry drills were the focus, with most manoeuvring with both boards down.

At 15:09hrs, a change to J2-3 coincided with a tow period, to the Back Paddock with a long upwind and downwind testing period in lighter winds. Conditions eased significantly to ~6kts by 15:30hrs in the Back Paddock - Course E from the 2021 America's Cup.

The final session (16:00 onwards) concentrated on light-air technique:

• Rudder ventilation noted as a key issue
• Light-air gybes and tacks are practised extensively
• Strong focus on leeward roll mechanics
• Traveller consistently brought fully up into tacks

Sailing concluded at 16:16hrs.

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